211 Roof Terrace Cafe

Situated at the rooftop of the only 'shopping centre' in Holland V, this cafe has been known as a place for chilling out under the stars, but on this day we visited, the weather was too damp and stuffy, so we opted for the indoor seats. We took a rather long time to browse through the large menu, and settled on two appetisers and a main for everyone.
First to come was the Grilled Portobello. Interestingly served as 5 halves of portobellos (maybe because we had 5 people for dinner) atop salad greens and dressed with balsamic vinegar. The portobellos had a firm texture, and was juicy, with the earthy juices mixing well with the vinegar. The grilled flavour came through very well, and was indeed pleasing as an appetiser.

Next up we had the Fisherman's Platter. Standard fried seafood, such as calamari, fish and prawns. Rather good batter used though; with a savoury and slightly spicy taste to it. Seafood was fresh as well.

I had the Seafood Risotto, one of the recommended items. It looks mushy and wrong, but when it was served, the aroma of tomatoes wafts up. Taking a first bite, the rice grains were of the large Italian type traditionally used for risottos, and provided a very firm al dente texture. The tomato base was refresingly zesty yet not overpowering. Seafood was very fresh, with bouncy squid and crunchy prawns. It was a pity the serving was rather small.

Big G opted for the Vongole, which was another recommended item. Pasta was al dente, and clams were numerous and large. The highlight however, was the white wine sauce, which was appetizingly sour, with a fragrance that lended a delicate lightness to the dish. One of the best vongole sauces I've ever tried.

The mentor and M ordered a simple Al Scampi pasta, which was basically aglio olio with prawns. Aglio olio is really hard to perfect, since there's so limited ingredients, but the mentor claimed that this is the first pasta that did not bore him halfway. I tried a little, and the chilli lent a very nice spiciness to the whole dish.

G took this Tandoori Chicken Salad because he wanted something light. Interesting mix of tastes, with the tandoori taste mixing with the salad. The chicken was flavoursome, but i thought it was rather tough.

Food: Good Australian/Italian fare with real effort in the cooking

Price: 6/10 rather pricey, prepare to spend $25 per person at least. Pastas and risottos range from $15 - $20 while main courses can hit $30.

Ambience: Comfortable and relaxed environment with relatively responsive service

Location: 7/10 Not a significant problem for those who know Holland V

Address: #04-01 Holland Village Shopping Centre 211 Holland Avenue 278967